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OpinionImpressionsXCOM: Chimera Squad Adds Personality To The Series, But Feels Less Personal
Chimera Squad is a fitting subtitle for the new XCOM game, because it’s a chimera of a game. Sure, it’s got XCOM’s turn-based tactical head on its shoulders, but it’s being ferried about on Overwatch’s body by Divinity: Original Sin 2‘s legs. 12 hours in, I’m still having trouble deciding if this monster of a…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 23, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsA Sci-Fi SimCity Is Exactly What I’ve Needed
A lot of people’s response to the pressures of all of this has been to retreat to the sunny skies and green pastures of Animal Crossing. Which is fine to a point, but after too long I find myself getting a little tired of the idealism, and start craving something a little dirtier, a little…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsTrials Of Mana‘s Healer Talks Like A Baby And Pwease, No
There are six playable characters in the Trials of Mana HD remake that comes out this week. The only dedicated healer among them is Charlotte, the diminutive granddaughter of the Priest of Light. I’d rather my party die a thousand deaths than be subjected to her insipidly cutesy baby-talk. It’s a widdle too uwu. When…
By Mike Fahey Published April 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMario Maker 2‘s Final Update Would Be Better If It Weren’t The Last One
Super Mario Maker 2 received its big version 3.0 update today, adding a bunch of new items, characters, and a whole new mode for building entire worlds. There’s a ton of great stuff to play around with in it. But as a final update, it leaves a lot on the table. First the big stuff:…
By Ethan Gach Published April 22, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsDestiny 2’s Guardian Games Is Another Boring Bounty Fest So Far
Destiny 2’s latest event is a generous but all-too-familiar bounty grind, and I’m not sure I have it in me to stick with it. Revealed last week, Guardian Games is Destiny 2’s spin on the Olympics. Instead of individual players competing to see who’s the best, players of a particular class—Warlock, Titan, or Hunter—pool their…
By Ethan Gach Published April 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsI Need Much More Of Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Dancing Mini-Game
Don’t leave a rhythm game fan hanging here, Square Enix. The Final Fantasy VII Remake dancing mini-game is too good to be limited to a practice round and one spectacular sequence. Cloud needs to move his body right. As I played through Final Fantasy VII Remake, former (sniff) co-worker Jason Schreier kept asking me where…
By Mike Fahey Published April 21, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe New Animated Mortal Kombat Movie Is Just As Brutal As The Games
Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpion’s Revenge, the new film from Warner Bros. Animation, begins with dozens of ninja being torn limb from limb. Hanzo “Scorpion” Hasashi’s young son is viciously slayed while the titular ninja helplessly watches. Fans of the fighting game’s over-the-top violence will be… pleased? This might get a little gross, folks. The first…
By Mike Fahey Published April 20, 2020 -
OpinionIt’s Not Gonna Happen But I Still Want A Physical Copy Of Final Fantasy VII Remake [Update]
I made the mistake of trying to get a physical copy of Final Fantasy VII Remake, the game I’ve been waiting over a decade to play, ever since the idea of it first started knocking around my early-20s brain. It never came, and now I’m staring at page after page of scalper prices on Ebay.…
By Ethan Gach Published April 17, 2020 -
OpinionThe Definitely True Backstories Of Final Fantasy VII Remake‘s Background Characters
Final Fantasy VII Remake is one of the most luxurious video games I’ve ever played. Nearly 20 hours in, Cloud’s character model still causes me to audibly gasp every time I see him from a new angle. The friggin’ pipes in this game tell a story, with grimy textures that make me feel like I…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 16, 2020 -
Opinion7 Indie Gems You Finally Have Time To Play Under Lockdown
There are plenty of big name video games to play right now. You can relive old memories (or make new ones) with Final Fantasy VII Remake and embark on intense demon-slaying adventures in Nioh 2 or Doom Eternal. But the experience of social distancing doesn’t have to just be about playing the biggest games. Here’s…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 16, 2020 -
OpinionNintendo Has Made Animal Crossing Visits As Annoying As Possible
When I was in college, I was one of the folks living off campus. That meant guests all the time, and it meant house parties. I’m an introvert, but even now, I’m glad to put together brunch or whatever with friends. Thanks to Animal Crossing, I have an entire island where goofy stuff can happen.…
By Heather Alexandra Published April 15, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsFallout 76‘s Wastelanders Expansion Is Underwhelming So Far
Running down the hill from Vault 76 where I emerged a year and a half ago, I spot a couple hiking up a stone path. They are the first people I’ve ever seen in Fallout 76 in my over 100 hours with it. They ask me if the vault’s still open and if I’ve heard…
By Ethan Gach Published April 14, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsCloud Can’t Close Doors
Final Fantasy VII Remake looks so damn good, and it’s full of tiny graphical flourishes. You can even see which color materia Cloud has equipped in his sword. That might be why it’s so much more noticeable to me that Cloud can’t close doors. I’m only eight hours into playing the game, so maybe Cloud…
By Maddy Myers Published April 13, 2020 -
OpinionHunting Down Animal Crossing: New Horizons’ Cherry Blossom Recipes Turned Me Into A Monster
I know what I said about Animal Crossing: New Horizons. “Take things easy,” I said. “Don’t let FOMO ruin the game for you,” I said. But last night, I failed to follow my own advice. My mad dash to round up cherry blossom recipes turned me into a ravenous monster, unable to appreciate the virtual…
By Ian Walker Published April 10, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsThe Difference Between Final Fantasy VII’s Easy And Normal Modes Is Too Drastic
Combat in Final Fantasy VII Remake, especially when facing powerful boss battles, involves juggling normal and special attacks, destructive and healing magics, and strategically exploiting enemy weaknesses. Unless you’re playing in easy mode. Then it’s just button-mashing bullshit. I spent 40 hours playing through Final Fantasy VII Remake, mostly on normal mode, the highest difficulty…
By Mike Fahey Published April 10, 2020 -
OpinionAccomplishing Things In Animal Crossing Leaves Me Feeling Kinda Bummed
Earlier this week, my partner quit playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons. I have continued to incrementally improve my island with new establishments, nicer houses, and a preponderance of glassy-eyed, unblinking gnome statues. But mostly, I just fish and catch bugs. “It’s something to do with my hands,” I say to her in an attempt to…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 9, 2020 -
OpinionImpressionsMinecraft Dungeons Is Like Family-Friendly Diablo
Minecraft’s transformation from an open-world crafting game into a linear dungeon crawler is an odd one, but Minecraft Dungeons is still shaping up to be a serenely welcoming loot-based hack n’ slash. Mojang demoed the game for me remotely last week due to the new work-from-home constraints imposed by the ongoing covid-19 crisis. These constraints…
By Ethan Gach Published April 9, 2020 -
OpinionHey History Games, The Nazis Were The Bad Guys
I’m playing Slitherine’s Panzer Corps 2 at the moment and loving almost every minute of it. It’s one of the best turn-based strategy games in years, but there’s also something a bit off about it, something that’s troubling about a lot of historical strategy games: It has a little too much fun playing the Germans.…
By Luke Plunkett Published April 8, 2020 -
OpinionAnimal Crossing: New Horizons‘ Hourly Themes, Ranked
My favorite part of Animal Crossing games is the unique music for every hour of the day. In New Horizons, the tracks appear after the island’s Resident Services building is upgraded, giving players 24 individual themes to enjoy. A little bit of Ian Walker lore: I used to freelance as a music critic. It never…
By Ian Walker Published April 6, 2020
